Productive Procrastination

12.22.10

Everyone is guilty of it whether you are in college or not. It’s that pit in your stomach feeling– The inevitable cloud looming over your head. What is it?

Procrastination.

There are many forms of procrastination and how you choose to waste time varies depending on your guilty pleasures. For me, the hours fly by when perusing random people’s Facebook photo albums.

I quickly learned this prevents me from completing important tasks on my to-do list. That’s when I had the revelation– If I’m going to procrastinate, why not at least do something productive. It’s time to change ideas into actions. Here are four ways to easily spend your time instead of wasting it:

• Network: Facebook and Twitter are fantastic for building your social network (and social calendar), but it can also be a great tool to advance your future as well. While on the sites, research potential companies that you would want to work for. “Like” or “follow” them and frequently look at their page or tweets for job announcements.

• Organize: Whether your room is a mess or your academic planner is busting at the seams, get organized. When things are in order, you’ll be ready to tackle your tasks confidently.

• Workout: In the words of Elle Woods, “Exercising gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.” When you have the time, why not clear your mind, start fresh and feel rejuvenated?

• Clean: Yes, you heard right. Clean that bathroom you’ve put off scrubbing for three months. Hey, it might just give you the motivation to do your real work! No task will be worse than tackling that grime.